State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity wanteveryone to know that a convicted killer in Wayne County was taken off death row last week and could be eligible for parole.
"Exactly why we said RJA is dangerous," Berger's office tweeted Friday afternoon, referring to the Racial Justice Act.
"Killer taken off death row and made parole eligible," tweeted ASP.
Not only was this not a Racial Justice Act claim - Marvin Williams' death sentence was vacated because he is mentally disabled - but parole is not an option for inmates whosucceed in getting off death row under the 2-year-old law, according to the way the law is written.
Republican lawmakers and the state's prosecutors say someone sentenced at a time when parole was still an option in first-degree murder cases, before 1994, could theoretically end up going free.
But while Williams will be eligible for parole consideration - none of the 16 inmates who have already been spared execution because they were deemed mentally disabled have been paroled - the RJA specifies that life without parole is the only option for a successful claim.
Opponents say some judge somewhere could see it differently, but supporters say that won't happen and have far more authoritative case law to back up their viewpoint.
The first test of the Racial Justice Act is under way in Cumberland County.
In that case, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation has filed a brief on behalf of convicted killer Marcus Robinson expressly acknowledging that he understands his onlyrecourse, if successful, is life in prison without parole.
McCrory won't release returns
Gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory is rejecting a call from the state Democratic Party to reveal more about his finances as a nonlawyer member of a law firm that does lobbying work.
McCrory told TV station WWAY he would not release his tax returns or other personal financial information and would only disclose what the state requires on ethics forms, as all other candidates do, when the time comes to file campaign paperwork.
"No. That's my private records," McCrory told the TV station. "I wouldn't ask you to release your records to be a newsperson, either.
"Listen: I own a house, 2,600-square-foot house. My wife and I own two used cars. Both over 10 years old. They are paid for. I have a 401k, and I have no pension. I own no other land. I wish I had some land here in Wilmington and on Wrightsville Beach or something, but I don't. That's my wealth. That's it. I'm not independently wealthy."
Clary to lobby for Gaston
Former longtime state legislator Debbie Clary, a Republican from Cherryville who resigned from the Senate this year, will become alobbyist for Gaston County, theGaston Gazette reports.
Her contract will be paid for by the county Board of Commissioners and the Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Division, the paper reports.
Clary won't be affected by thecooling-off period between lobbying and legislating because she will work on behalf of local government and not private interests.
Clary told the paper she plans to become a lobbyist. For now, she will try to bring more developmentmoney to the county.
LaRoque primary challenger?
John Bell IV, an official in the Wayne County Republican Party, is considering running against Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Republican from Kinston, in the primary.
He told the GoldsboroNews-Argus he would make anannouncement Tuesday.
LaRoque is under federalinvestigation by the U.S.Department ofAgriculture for his financial dealings involving a loan program.
A House ethics committee has been asked to consider investigating him; the committee works in secret, so it isn't known if it has taken up the request.
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